Life Before Everything
by purple-suit
Summary: A little glimpse into life as it was before Voldemort attacked Harry and his family, told from four different perspectives. The Fair Phantom and Westwerk are working in collaboration.


Life Before Everything

Chapter 1 - James

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><p>This chapter was written by The Fair Phantom. The next chapter in this continuation will be completed by Westwerk. We do not own the Harry Potter series.<p>

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><p><em>Bottle for Harry. Bottle for Harry. Bottle for Harry.<em>

In even strides, James reached the bottom of the stairs and started a straight path to his refrigerator. He opened the refrigerator door just as the wailing baby upstairs grew even louder, and his wife's voice rang out in desperation.

"Hurry up, James!"

He forced himself to sound calm and collected. "Coming, dear."

He scanned the cluttered shelves and found a filled bottle at the bottom, then took it in triumph. Without pausing, he cast a warming charm. Bottle for Harry!

After straightening up, it was impossible for James not to notice the larger, glass bottles sitting far back on the top shelf.

A pause.

_Bottle for James._

"I've got it, Lily!" he shouted.

This time, James ran as he made his way back upstairs and into the baby's room. Lily stood next to the crib with baby Harry in her arms as she rocked him back and forth in an attempt to comfort him. Her long, red hair had become disheveled as if she'd just fought an active duel. On seeing James, she sighed, easily relaying both relief and exasperation.

"Look, Harry. Look at what Daddy got you," she prompted the baby boy.

Harry quieted to sniffles for just a moment, turning to his father with large, puffy eyes. James proudly marched over and displayed the bottle for everyone to see.

Harry reached forward, almost trying to fall out of Lily's arms.

Lily did not seem so impressed. "James."

_Wrong bottle._

James hastily switched hands to show the small baby bottle instead. Harry made a noise of protest and shifted around as he tried to catch sight of the Firewhisky now hidden behind James' back.

"Just put it in his mouth," Lily said. She continued rubbing small circles on the child's back to comfort him.

James waited for the perfect moment, then threw it forward. At first, Harry jumped in surprise from the sudden taste. In another instant, he grabbed the bottle with his own hands and continued to drink, holding it like a flute as he gazed innocently at his exhausted parents.

The silence felt so serene that James had to fall into the rocking chair that Lily had decorated with dancing fairies and take a long sip of alcohol. Within the second, Lily yanked the glass bottle out of his hand and tossed it into the diaper disposal.

"Lily!"

He couldn't drink that anymore.

She had no sympathy for him, as usual. "You're setting a bad example for your son." One corner of her mouth twitched slightly as she spoke.

"You said Sirius was the bad example," said James. Maybe Sirius would then fall on his side.

"Him too," Lily replied. She tenderly smoothed some of Harry's wild hair away from his face. "You need a haircut."

Harry smiled and shook his head, almost as if he understood. He'd become fond of that gesture over the past few days.

Lily chuckled and kissed her son on the forehead. Her hair was soon yanked by little fingers. The bright red sharply contrasted against her son's black locks.

Even without his drink, James had to lean back and smile. He had somehow found the perfect family.

He reached far out with open hands. "Your arms must be tired, Lily. I can take Harry."

She scoffed. "Oh. He gets all cute and quiet, and then you want him."

"Na!" Harry said, sounding in dissent.

Both parents turned their attention to him, and James had an idea.

"Harry, I don't think this is fair," James said with all the bad acting that his baby adored. "I'm your father - how can I be a bad influence on you? Lily is conspiring to turn you against me!"

Harry stayed quiet and stared at him while absently sucking on his bottle. He needed to work on those cues.

James lowered his voice into one of conspiracy and glanced around wildly in an imitation of Mad-eye Moody. Only Lily would get that reference, though.

"She probably wants to turn you into a girl."

"Na!" Harry said in outrage, undoubtedly working off James' solemn nod.

"I say we boys need to stage a rebellion!" He threw a fist in the air, knowing Harry would mimic the gesture.

"Aa," Harry screamed in joy and apparent agreement.

"We Potters will no longer suffer the tyranny of a woman!"

He began to clap, giving Harry a hopeful look. Harry gave a toothy grin and clapped with enthusiasm.

"Yaaaaay," he said like he always did when they clapped. His tone didn't quite match the sentiment, but that detail could be overlooked.

"James," Lily said casually.

"Yes, dear tyrant?"

"Sit down before you hurt yourself."

James fell back into the rocking chair. Harry turned to face his mother and show her his impressive clapping skills, concentrated on getting the motion just right.

Lily laughed and kissed his oversized cheek, then each of his little hands.

James smiled, content to watch them forever. How had he been so fortunate?

Lily finally brought Harry to his father, his 'Daddy'. James immediately lifted the boy high into the air and sparked a round of uncontrollable giggling. How was it that Harry could seem so little and so big at the same time?

Lily then used her wand to make sparkles and different colored lights. This silenced the baby as he shaped his mouth into the perfect 'O'.

There was a knock at the door, and both parents froze.

"It's just Sirius," James said.

Lily nodded and smoothed a little of her hair down, still shaking.

James entrusted Harry to Lily, then pulled out his wand and turned from the room. He ignored the brooms on Harry's wallpaper that had decided to zoom out of sight. Instead, he glanced back supportively to Lily as she rocked baby Harry, who had his fist in his mouth.

She smiled at James and, with new courage, he walked downstairs.

The person knocked again, loudly banging at the door.

James closed his eyes, then realized that was a bad idea. With his wand already raised, he only needed to whisper the spell that would unlock the door.

A quick flick of his wand threw the door open and revealed his own best friend.

Sirius rushed into the house, knowing they were taking a risk.

He wore his trademark jacket - the Muggle one he had gotten with his motorbike. He also had a generic, black cloak draped over that. His growing, black hair had been tied in a ponytail, but he had lifted his hood over it.

James closed and locked the door before embracing his best friend.

"Lily!" he shouted. "Come say hi to Sirius!"

"Bring my godson!" Sirius added.

Some indecipherable noise came from upstairs, but James knew she would meet up with them eventually.

"Let's go to the couches," he said. They both slumped into the maroon cushions. "How have you been lately?"

Sirius barked, then leaned in close. "Free, at least. Better than you, stuck here with that - "

"I can hear you!" Lily shouted from upstairs.

James leaned back against the pillows for support. He needed support.

James knew they both looked exhausted, though undoubtedly for entirely different reasons. "She has the place bugged."

"Do not!" she replied.

The response was punctuated by a scream from Harry that implied she was either torturing him, or getting him dressed. In Harry's mind, those were not so different.

Sirius threw a hand over his face to hide his laughter, but James kicked him lightly on the ankle anyway. He quieted down far faster than James would have expected.

For a moment, Sirius' eyes gained a distant gleam. "All this Voldemort stuff, though...being on the run and all that...I feel like an escaped convict or something."

James gave only a soft smile, allowing his friend a moment of pity. Then he said, "I'm sure a lot of girls still think of you as one."

Sirius came back to life as he jumped for his laughter.

"I'm thinking about getting a tattoo, Prongs. What do you say?"

Lily finally appeared. "You're insane," she replied for him.

"And brilliant," James whispered.

Lily only scoffed.

Her hair had been lightly brushed, and she had changed into some Muggle clothes. Harry had also been dressed, though he was already trying to kick off his shoes. For today, Lily had chosen to go with a potions theme and dress the baby in a robe with boiling cauldrons all over it, probably just to irritate James.

Harry screeched when he saw his godfather. Sirius was even louder.

"Harryyyyyyyyyyyyyyy!"

He pulled the baby from Lily's arms before she even got the chance to protest. He then went back to his seat, focused only on the child.

Lily squeezed next to James and took hold of his hand as they both watched the excitable pair.

Sirius weighed the boy in his arms, bouncing him up and down slightly. Harry screamed in glee.

"Harry, you're huge! What potions did you get hold of?"

Lily stifled a laugh.

Harry took on a serious tone and began a long string of babble for his godfather. Occasionally, he would point to a cauldron on his robe or to his mother.

Sirius listened intently to the nonsensical words. Whenever Harry turned to face Lily, he would tickle him just slightly.

"James-y! I don't know what he's saying, but your boy sounds smart! How did that happen?"

"You're hilarious, Padfoot."

"Paf't Paf't Paf't," Harry chanted. As expected, he was immediately rewarded by being tossed into the air.

Lily groaned at the display. James knew she barely kept herself from saying something, likely because she'd said it a thousand times before, but her wand was already in her hand.

"A genius!" Sirius declared, entirely ignoring the mother's discomfort.

"My genes," Lily added.

"Lily!" James shouted in mock-outrage. She only turned away and tried not to laugh.

Sirius barked and nodded enthusiastically as Harry talked to him, motioning to his parents and then mimicking wand movements. When finished, he also began laughing to himself.

Sirius waited until the little boy had finished. "I bet he's done all kinds of magic already."

James tried hard not to seem too proud and desperate to brag, but he also knew that he failed. It was pointless, after all, when Lily had straightened up and nodded eagerly within the second.

"Oh, all the time! I didn't believe it at first - thought James was doing another stupid joke, but it turns out Harry is extremely fond of making things disappear."

"Shoes, socks, medicine, anything unpleasant...He's real good at it," James added. He allowed a mildly jealous tone to take over at the end so that he'd spark a loud round of laughter from Sirius and a chuckle from Lily.

After a few seconds, Harry also started laughing.

Sirius quieted down, studying Harry.

"So that's why all this fuss has been kicked up," he said in an absent tone.

Both parents sighed. They didn't want to be reminded of this.

Harry only focused on pulling Sirius' hair, bouncing enthusiastically as Sirius held him in up on his knees. It wasn't his fault, though. He had no idea of what was going on. He'd done nothing to cause it.

"Why did you come here, Padfoot?" James asked. It was a trip far too dangerous for a simple visit, even by Sirius' standards.

Sirius swallowed. For a brief moment, James thought he was trying very hard not to look him in the eye. "I was hoping to talk."

"About?" James' prompted, surprised that he needed to do so. That wasn't much like Sirius. Certainly Peter, and sometimes Remus, but not Sirius.

Sirius pulled Harry a little closer, seeming concerned that the boy would fall, but he looked more like he just wanted a hug.

This had to be bad. James grabbed Lily's hand and squeezed it tightly.

"I don't...I don't think I should be your secret keeper anymore."


End file.
